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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korea plans to invest more than KRW 60 trillion in non-metropolitan regions over the next five years through the National Growth Fund, as part of efforts to boost regional economic development, the government said on February 2.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) discussed the plan at a meeting with local governments held at Front1 in Seoul. The FSC previously announced that at least 40% of the fund’s total investment capacity of KRW 150 trillion would be allocated to regional areas.
As of January 30, non-metropolitan local governments had submitted 91 project proposals seeking a combined KRW 70 trillion in funding. Proposed projects include an AI and robotics startup hub in Busan, expanded silicon wafer production in North Gyeongsang Province, and a national AI computing center and future mobility parts manufacturing base in South Jeolla Province.
The FSC said final investment decisions will be made following reviews by the investment screening committee and the fund management committee.
Separately, the FSC plans to provide approximately KRW 106 trillion in corporate financing to regional companies through policy lenders. This represents 41.7% of the KRW 240 trillion in total corporate financing scheduled for this year, with a target of raising the regional share to over 45% by 2028.
FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won is also scheduled to visit regional high-tech industrial sites later this month to explore additional ways to expand corporate financing outside the capital region.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
